Rabbit sterilized 4 days ago - RIP

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anaotilia

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Location
puerto plata, , Dominican Republic
One of my rabbit sterilized 4 days ago has a surgical point a little broken and so where it had the testicle, it is now infected with pus.
My veterinary told me injection of penicillin, clean with iodine and powder of antibiotic on the cut.
But I think it is not enough because the rabbit becomes stiffer and stiffer
and in the past, with other rabbits, this was the first stage before the death.
Can someone advise me?
Thanks in advance.
Anaotilia

P.s. veterinaries in my country have very little experience with rabbits.
 
it sounds like one of of the sacs has become infected. Did he have sutures/glue? Unless there is something else going on ( probably is) and/or the infection is massive he should be able to recover from an infection in the surgical site. This happens occasionally
 
thanks.
stiffer and stiffer means that it walks slower and slower and the muscles of the body are stiff and rigid. Problems in the balance of the body, too. This already occured me 3 years ago with another sterilized rabbit and it died.
yes one of the sac is infected with pus. No glue in this country sorry.
I am hydrating it, too.
You think that a shoot of 1 cc of human gamma globuline to increase the defence could be usefull?
 
Do you know what specific antibiotics were used, what kind of penicillin and antibiotic powder, also any other medications that were given, even in the surgery? if the vet was using meds that are meant for dogs and cats, then your rabbit could be having a reaction to a med that was given. Your other rabbit that had died, do you remember if it was given meds, and if so, do you remember what? If the infection is widespread, then this may cause the syptoms you describe, but being given the wrong kind of meds could also be the cause.
 
I was thinking maybe the incorrect use of anesthesia or wrong drug also... so very sad. I cannot recommend the use of gamma globulin, am not a vet and do not know anything about its use in rabbits.
Hydrating your bunny and keeping him comfortable is possibly the only thing to do right now.
Your bun DOES have an infection and you could get a penicillin injection if you trusted that the vet has the knowledge to give the correct drug and dose properly. So sorry!
 
answer to JBUN the penicillin is streptopen 20/25 0,4 cc daily, the antibiotic powder is sulfa trimetoprim streptopen is penicillina procainica g 250 mg and sulfato de dimetilstreptomicina
thanks
 
The streptopen should be ok as long as it is being injected, and that your rabbit is being given the appropriate dosage. The antibiotic powder wouldn't be safe to use if it contains streptopen/penicillin, as when you apply it externally, your rabbit will most likely ingest some of it when it grooms that area. Penicillin can cause enteritis and diarrhea when ingested orally, and could prove fatal, but it shouldn't be the cause of the neuromuscular symptoms your rabbit is experiencing. I just have a few more questions. Are you giving intramuscular injections of the streptopen? And about how much does your rabbit weigh? Is he still eating well on his own, and what do his poops look like, are they normal? When did the stiffness symptoms start? Was it immediately following surgery, or was it after you started giving the antibiotics for the infection, and when did you start the antibiotics? Also, how bad does the infection look, does it feel warm or hot to the touch, and is it very red or swollen around the area? Do you remember if your rabbit that you had 3 years ago, if it also had antibiotics after its surgery?

You may want to at least talk to the vet and mention the symptoms your rabbit is having, and see what they say.

I'm including these rabbit medication lists, in case you need to refer to them to see if a particular med is safe for your rabbit.

http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Safe_drugs_main.htm
 
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the powder is cloramfenicol or trimetoprim sulfa, at the moment the first one. I give oral antibiotic cloranmfenicol 1 cc twice a day, and the injection I started yesterday intramuscolar 0,3 cc daily when I saw the infection in the sac, it is a about 2 kg the weigh, no poops at the moment , it doesn't eat .
stiffnes starts today. after the surgery I only put an antibiotic cream gentamycin the sac infected is the doble of the other the ears of the rabbit are a little hot it has a difficulty to stay on the four paws
the veterinary here in dominican republic don't have a big knowledge of rabbits.
thanks

p.s. when i try to hydrate him , is is very stiff in the mouth.
for the other rabbit was the same they are ok for 3 or 4 days after the surgery, following the sac is infected and they start to be sick and rigid
 
He may be dehydrated. If you can get unflavored pedialyte(used for children), then give him some of that. He probably needs some electrolytes, and needs them immediately, or get him to a vet right away and get a sub q injection of lactated ringers, which would be the best thing at this point.

By rigid, do you mean hunched up in pain? Do you hear any tooth grinding? If he's not eating and drinking, you need to help him eat. If you have 100% plain canned pumpkin(no added spices) you can syringe feed him some of that, or you can soak his pellets in water, but you may need to blend them in a blender, to get it smooth enough to syringe feed. Feed about 4-6cc per kg of body weight, and do this every 3-4 hours. You can also see if he will eat leafy greens like cilantro or parsley, on his own. You also need to keep syringing water to him, about the same amount as the food. Just be careful to do it slowly, and give him time to swallow, so that he doesn't aspirate any of the liquid. I would stop the oral chloramphenicol, as it may very likely be the cause of him not eating, as that is one of the side effects. If the powder is the trimetoprim, that is ok, but if it is chloramphenicol, then stop using it too. If you are still using the gentamycin cream, stop using that as well. It can also cause problems with rabbits. If you can get a pet probiotic gel like Benebac, or even ones used for horses, then start giving him maybe half a gram of that each day, as he needs it to replace the good bacteria, because of the effects of the antibiotics. The symptoms you are seeing is called GI stasis, when a rabbit stops pooping and eating. So you have to help him eat until he will eat on his own. If his stomach seems tight or firm, and if you hear any gurgling sounds, he may have gas in his stomach, which will also stop him from eating, you may also need to use simethicone(infant gas relief suspension). The dosage is 1cc every hour for 3 hours, then every 3-8 hours as needed. If you have metacam suspension, then that would be helpful as well to help control the pain and inflammation, and get him eating again. You need to make sure to give the right dosage though. The dosage is 0.1-0.2 mg/kg once a day. The medication link I posted, also includes the dosage info for it under analgesics, meloxicam. As long as your rabbit is experiencing pain, he won't eat on his own. So stop the chloramphenicol and gentamycin, and syringe feed him food and water starting right away, and see if he will eat grass hay and cilantro or parsley on his own. Also get some metacam and simethicone. The metacam is extremely important at this point, to get the pain under control. Also if his body seems cold you need to warm him up with a warm pack or warm towels, before you feed him.

Here is some info on GI stasis.

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html
 
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Thanks a lot JBUN.
I am following all your advices. Now it has poops of regular round form but very very soft.
Just some questions if possible.
honey can help him? A juice made with electrolityc solution with pellets, honey, cereal powder for baby, lettuce, broccoli, carrots can be useful to feed him?
drops of trimetoprim sulfa instead of cloramfenicol drops taken orally?
and is ok a shoot of 0,3 cc of penycillin daily or better tetracyclin or enrofloxacyn (baytril)?
Thanks and regards
 
The fact that he is pooping is really good. Is he starting to move around at all, or is he lethargic? Can you discribe his behavior now? Is he trying to eat on his own yet? If he is, give him lots of grass hay if you have it. I wouldn't give him honey. Too many sugars can make his digestive problems much worse. Electrolytes with dextrose or glucose for the sugar, is better, as it isn't very sweet and it is absorbed right into the bloodstream. If you don't have electrolytes, as long as you can get some food and water into him, that will have to be good enough. I wouldn't make that food mixture. Too many new foods could cause more digestive problems. Just soak the pellets by themselvesInot with anything else), and if you have a blender, then also blend it smooth so it will be easier to syringe feed, or get some of the plain canned pumpkin to syringe feed. You could see if your vet has Oxbow critical care food mix for herbivores. It's the best thing to syringe feed a rabbit. It's a powdered food mix made out of timothy grass, with added vitamins. If you have cilantro, parsley, or a dark green leaf lettuce(not iceburg), then you can see if he will eat those one his own.

The penicillin injections are ok. As long as it's injected and not given orally, it won't cause as many problems with his digestion. I don't know that you also need oral antibiotics, since you are already giving injectable ones, unless the infection is really bad, and you feel like it is spreading through him. If you feel like he does need oral antibiotics as well, then the trimetoprim is supposed to be safe to give orally.
 
in the 3 last hours the situation is getting worse a lot of saliva from the mouth, eyes very wet and almost closed, very hot in the neck and rigid in the body
it cannot stay on the four legs, it lies on one side of the body. it has convulsions, too.
I hydrated him with 3 cc of ringe solution with injection, put him in a open box with clothes and near a bottle of warm water inside a cloth.
I gave him 0,3 cc more of penicyllin ,in case the first injection was not enough.
Can I do something more for him?
 
It may be best at this point to bring him to the vets and end the suffering as bad as it sounds.

He sounds septic.

The only thing you really can do at this point is continue medications and try and help him eat/drink.

Has this happened before getting a rabbit neutered? If this is a common occurance I would in this situation, avoide getting animals spayed/neutered where you are.
 
It is sad to say but I have a 20% of deaths after 3 or 4 days of sterilization.
Before, 4 years ago, It was 50% with the first vet.
You are right I prefer not to neuter the males (only males I used to neuter),
exclusively if they have serious damages to the genitals.
Thanks
 
I'm sorry about your rabbit. It sounds like there really wasn't much you could do, as the infection was just too bad. It sounds like the problem stems from unsanitary practices with the vet and the surgery, and that is where the infection is starting. I agree that it would be best to not get neuters/spays done, as it seems like it just ends up in the death of your rabbits.
 
It really doesn't sound worth neutering at that success rate. Recovery should be 100%
I know its hard because of where you're located as well.

I would bring the little guy in and have him put down to avoid further suffering.
 
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